Flush tank lever guide



Dec. 19, 1950 s. GERTZ 2,534,705

' FLUSH TANK LEVER GUIDE Filed July 7, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR IATTORNEY Dec. 19, 1950 s, GERTz 2,534,705

FLUSH TANK LEVER GUIDE Filed July '7, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I .g ja

' INVENTOR BY mmxmk 9M ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UlTED STATESPATENT OFFICE FLUSH TANK LEVER GUIDE Samuel Gertz, Jamaica, N. Y.

Application July 7, 1945, Serial No. 603,694

Claims.

This invention relates to flush tanks and more particularly to valvemechanism for controlling the discharge of water from a flush tank.

Such tanks are commonly used for water closets and have a buoyant valvethat closes a discharge opening at the bottom of the tank. When thevalve is in closed position it is held down by the pressure of the waterabove it, but when raised so that there is water under the valve as wellas over it, the buoyancy of the valve causes it to float and descendgradually with the water level so that substantially the entire contentsof the tank are discharged through the outlet before the valve returnsto its closed position.

Since the person operating the valve cannot be expected to hold themechanism in its valveopening osition long enough for the water to fiowout of the tank, it is necessary to provide a lost motion connectionbetween the valve and its operating mechanism so that the operatingmechanism can return to its original starting position while the valveremains open.

The valve must be guided, and because of the fact that it must be lightenough to be buoyant, the force for closing the valve is limited; and itis a common experience to have such valves stick in their guides andfail to close properly.

Many valves of special construction have been devised to insureconsistent closing, but such valves have not gone into general usebecause the conventional constructions have the advantage of simplicityand low cost.

It is an object of this invention to provide improved valve-operatingmechanism that prevents sticking of the valve while maintaining thesimplicity and low cost of conventional constructions.

I have discovered that by making only minor changes in the structure ofthe conventional valve-operating mechanism, consistent closing of thevalve can be insured. The cause of sticking so often encountered withsuch valves has not been understood. Rough or corroded valve stems havegenerally been blamed for the condition, and temporary relief of thetrouble has been obtained by smoothing down such valve stems or byreplacing them with new ones. While the reduction in friction preventsthe valve from sticking as easily or as often, I have discovered thatsticking can be entirely eliminated, even with roughened valve stems.Such sticking results from a bias that is transverse of the line ofmovement of the valve stem and imparted to the valve stem or itsoperating link by the main operating lever.

This invention provides guide means that maintain the end of the mainoperating lever in a definite relation to the line of movement of thevalve stem, and this relation is so chosen that the operating mechanismimparts no transverse bias to the valve stem or its operating link whenthe main operating lever has returned to its initial starting positionafter opening the valve. It is a feature of the invention that the leveris guided by means independent of the valve stem. Although someembodiments of the invention maintain the definite relation for allpositions of the operating lever, it is suflicient that the position ofthe lever be definite when the lever has returned to its normal orstarting position, since this is its position during the time that thevalve is descending by gravity to close the water outlet.

some features of the invention relate to constructions for utilizing theexisting fittings of the usual flush tank as supporting means for thelever guides of this invention.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a top plan view, partly broken away and in section, showinga flush tank with the cover removed, and with the overflow pipe inposition to serve as a guide for the operating lever.

Figure 2 is a front view, mostly in section, along the line 22 of Figure1, and with a cover on the tank.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, with the coveron the tank.

Figure 4 is an enlarged top plan view showing a modified form of guidemeans for the operating lever.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the upper part of the modifiedstructure shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an end View showing a second modified form of the invention,the view being partly in section on the line 66 of Figure '7.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a third modified construction using a single guide and abifurcated end on the operating lever.

Figure 9 is a front view of the structure shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is another modified construction in which the operating leverexerts a direct pull on the valve stem and is guided only during thefinal portion of its return movement.

Figure 11 is a front view of the modified form of the inventionillustrated in Figure 10. I

A flush tank [5 has a fitting l6 extending through an outlet in thebottom of the tank. This bottom fitting l5 has a face that fits againstthe top surface of the tank bottom and has a downwardly extending outletpipe 18 which is 3 connected with the closet bowl. The fitting I5 isclamped in place by a nut is that screws on the threads of the outletpipe la. The nut i9 clamps a gasket 23 against the outside of the tankbottom around the Quiet pipe 18.

An overflow pipe 22 extends upward from the fitting IG and forms anintegral part of the fitting. There is a passage in the fitting throughwhich water that enters the top of the overflow pipe 22 flows into theoutlet pipe i8. Before the nut is has been tightened, the fitting It maybe rotated in the opening through the tank bottom to position theoverflow pipe 22 at any desired location around the axis of the outlet.The specific construction thus far described is conventional and wellunderstood in the art.

There are brackets 23 and 26 with split ends that clamp on the overflowpipe 22, and these brackets have vertical openings near their outer endsthrough which a valve stem 25 passes. The brackets 23 and 22 serve asguides for the valve stem 26. In some constructions there is a singlebracket 23 with spaced guides for the valve stem supported by a singlebracket from the overflow pipe 22.

The valve stein 2-3 is rigidly connected to a buoyant valve 28 thatseats in the upper end of the outlet opening through the fitting it toprevent the escape of water from the tank. Figures 2 and 3 show a cover23 on top of the tank, and show the valve 28 in closed position. Eventhough this valve is buoyant, it is held in closed position by thepressure of Water above it in the tank. When the valve is raised so thatthe water comes under it, the buoyancy of the valve causes it to float,and to descend with the water level so that it does not close until thetank is substantially empty. 7

The upper end of the valve stem 2% is curved to form an eye 29, andthere is a link '38 with an eye at its lower end extending around thevalve stem 23. This eye at the bottom of the connecting link 30 is largeenough to fit loosely around the valve stem but smaller than the eye 29so that when the connecting link 38 is raised by a main operating lever32-, the valve stem 26 is raised and the valve 23 moved into openposition. The link 38 has a hook at its upper end which extends throughan opening in the operating lever 32.

The main operating lever 32 extends lengthwise of the tank i5 and issupported by a fulcrum at the front of the tank. This fulcrum comprisesa square pin 35 that turns in a bushing 36. The pin 35 is preferably anintegral part of a manually actuated lever 37 located outside of thetank l5. The bushing 36 is threaded and clamped in place by a nut 38that contacts with the inside surface of the front wall of the tank. Theoperating lever 32 has a square opening into which the pin 35 fits, andthe lever 32 is held on the pin 35 by a nut 39 that threads over the endof the pin 35.

With this construction angular movement of the manually actuated lever31 causes the operating lever 32 to move angularly about the axis of thepin 35. The bushing 35 is above water level of the tank I 5, when thetank is full, and the pin 35 fits loosely in the bushing 35. There issufficient clearance between the nut 39 and the inner end of the bushingso that the fulcrum end of the lever 32 has some lateral play andoperates freely with a minimum of friction.

Because of the fact that the fulcrum for. the lever 32 is located at thefront wall of the tank,

and the valve 28 is located midway between the front and back walls ofthe tank, the operating lever 32 is made with a transversely extendingportion that locates the free end of the operating lever at a convenientregion for connection with the valve 28. This shape of the operatinglever 32, with the transversely extending portion intermediate its ends,unbalances the operating lever so that play or clearance of the lever 32on the fulcrum pin 35 results in a transverse sagging of the free end ofthe lever, and this sagging becomes greater if the play increases. Inthe conventional flush tank such transverse sagging makes the positionof the operating lever with respect to the axis of the discharge openingindefinite and sometimes tilts the connecting link between the operatinglever and the valve stem, or gives the valve stem a transverse bias sothat the valve does not properly return to closed position.

The sagging of the operating lever 32 can be allowed for when initiallyconnecting it with the valve, but I have found that the position of theoperating lever does not remain constant, apparently because of smallchanges in the position of the fulcrum and of the operating lever, andthe multiplication of these small changes by the comparatively longlength 'of the operating lever 32.

In the construction shown in Figures 1 to 3, the fitting 28 at thebottom of the tank is rotated into a position that locates the overflowpipe 22 on the forward side of the operating lever 32 and in a positionto guide the vertical movement of the operating lever and to maintain itin a constant and definite relation to the discharge opening and to thevalve stem 23 when the valve 218 is in closed position. By using theoverflow pipe 22 as a guide, the construction shown in Figures 1 to 3takes advantage of the existing structure and avoids the necessity ofproviding a separate guide element. The brackets 23 and 24 "do notinterfere with the guiding of the operating lever 32 by the overflowpipe 22 because these brackets are located below the bottom limit oftravel of the operating lever.

Figures 4 and 5 show a modified construction in Which a guide pin 42extends through a slot 33 in an operating lever 44. The guide pin "22has its lower end provided with threads 46 that screw into a projection4T on the side of a bracket 4'8 clamped to the overflow pipe 22. Thethreads 43 permit vertical adjustment of the guide pin 52 and the pincan be located in any adjusted position by means of a lock nut 18.

The free "end of the operating lever M is connected with the stem 26 "ofthe valve 23 by link 30 as in the construction shown 'in Figures 1 to 3.Except for the projection ll, the bracket 48 shown in Figures 4 and 5"is similar in construction to the bracket 23 or 24 of Figures 1 to 3and it is clamped on the overflow pipe '22 by 'a bolt 59.

Figures 6 and 7 show another modified construction in which theoperating lever 32 is guided transversely by guide rods 53 and 54 attached at their lower ends to the fitting i6 and held in parallelrelation by a connector 53 that fits over the upper ends of these guiderods 53 and 54. The upper 'endsof the guide rods 53 and 5 4 arepreferably of reduced "d'ia'rne'ter and threaded to receive nuts "58that hold the nonnector 56 in position. These guide rods '53 and 54 arethreaded into the fitting i6 at their lower ends. The construction shownin Figures =6 and 7 has the advantage that it can be used with theconventional operating lever 32.

Figures 8 and 9 show a modified construction in which a single guide rodBI is used in place of the parallel guide rods of Figures 6 and 7. Thisguide rod 6! has a threaded lower end that screws into the fitting it,and it is used with a special operating lever "62 having a forked endwith hearing faces 64 and 65 that contact with opposite sides of theguide rod 6! if the operating lever 62 shifts in either, direction outof the desired zone of travel.

Figures 10 and 11 show a modified construction in which an operatinglever 12 transmits motion to the valve stem 26 without use of anyintermediate connecting link. In this construction the operating lever12 extends across the axis of the discharge outlet and has a bifurcatedend that extends on both sides of the valve stem 26. There is a Washer'iia around the valve stem just below the eye 29, and this washer 14extends across the slot in the end of the lever l2 so that upwardmovement of the lever 12 raises the washer M which in turn lifts thevalve stem 26 to open the valve 28.

At its lower limit of travel the operating lever 12 rests on a bracket16 which is clamped to the overflow pipe 22 by a clamping bolt l1. Thisbracket 16 has a guide bearing 18 through which the valve stem 26extends, and there is a guide pin 8i at the outer end of the bracket l6in position to extend into the slot in the ends of the operating lever12.

The guide pin 80 has a threaded lower end that screws into the bracketl6. A lock nut 8| secures the guide pin 88 in position. The guide pin 80is preferably of short length so that when the operating lever 12 ismoved upward to open the valve 28, the operating lever travels beyondthe end of the guide pin 80, but the upper end of the guide pin 80 istapered or pointed so that the operating lever 12 will shift to theright or left if necessary as it comes down on the guide pin after beingraised to open the valve.

With the construction shown in Figures 10 and 11, the operating lever 12has transverse guiding means for maintaining it in a definite relationto the axis of the discharge outlet only when the operating lever 72 isin, or close to,

its initial starting position. The object of this invention is obtained,however, by maintaining the operating lever in a definite relation tothe discharge outlet when the operating lever has returned to startingposition because this is the position of the operating lever during thetime that the final discharge of water from the tank is taking place andthe buoyant valve 28 is returning to closed position.

Misalignments of the valve stem and valve-operating mechanism during thetime that the valve is wide open do not adversely affect the operationof the flush tank, provided, that the proper relation of the operatinglever and the discharge outlet is restored before the water level dropsto that of the discharge outlet. The slot in the bifurcated end of thelever 12, and the pointed upper end of the guide pin 80 must becorrelated to allow for the maximum transverse displacement of theoperating lever during the time that a be used without others withoutdeparting from the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for controlling the discharge of water from a flush tank,said apparatus comprising a valve commanding an outlet at the bottom ofthe tank, a stem extending upward from the valve, a fulcrum at one sideof the tank, an operating lever supported by the fulcrum and movableabout a fulcrum axis extending substantially normal to the length of thetank, said operating lever extending from the fulcrum lengthwise of thetank and across a portion of the width of the tank away from the fulcrumside of the tank, an actuator for operating the lever, a connectionbetween the Valve stem and the end of the lever remote from the fulcrum,and an up-' wardly extending guide surface independent of the valve stemand disposed at a fixed location in the tank between the operating leverand the side of the tank on which the fulcrum is located, said guidesurface being in position to be con tacted by the end portion of thelever remote from the actuator and adjacent the connection of the leverwith the valve stem so that the lever is held in a definite relationwith respect to the valve stem.

2. Apparatus for controlling the discharge of water from a flush tank,said apparatus comprising a valve commanding an outlet at the bottom ofthe tank, a stem extending upward from the valve, a fulcrum at one sideof the tank, an operating lever supported by the fulcrum and movableabout a fulcrum axis extending substantially normal to the length of thetank, said operating lever extending from the fulcrum lengthwise of thetank and across a portion of the width of the tank away from the fulcrumside of the tank, an actuator for operating the lever, a connectionbetween the valve stem and the end of the lever remote from the fulcrum,and an upwardly extending guide surface independent of the valve stemand disposed at a fixed location in the tank, which location is suchthat when the operating lever is in the normal position which itoccupies when. the valve is closed, the guide surface is between atleast a portion of the operating lever and the side of the tank on whichthe fulcrum is located, said guide surface being in position to becontacted by the end portion of the lever remote from the actuator andadjacent the connection of the lever with the valve stem so that thelever is held in a definite relation with respect to the valve stem.

3. In a flush tank, an outlet fitting extending through an opening inthe bottom of the tank, an overflow pipe extending upward from thefitting and offset from the axis of the opening through which thefitting extends, means for clamping the fitting against rotation afterthe fitting has been turned to bring the overflow pipe into a desiredposition, a valve commanding the outlet of said fitting, and avalve-operating lever with one side contacting with the overflow pipe asa guide to prevent lateral displacement of the lever.

4. In a flush tank of greater length than width and having a buoyantvalve for controlling the escape of water through a bottom outlet of thetank, guide means above the bottom outlet for restraining the valveagainst lateral displacement while it is in open position, an operatinglever extending throughout most of the length of the tank, a fulcrumsupported by a front wall of the tank and connected with one end of theoperating lever, an actuator that moves the operating lever betweenraised and lowered positions, means connecting the other end of thelever with the valve, and vertically extending guide means independentof the valve and rigidly connected with the tank at a location remotefrom the fulcrum and having a surface in position to contact with abearing face at said other end of the lever to maintain that end of thelever that is remote froin the fulcrum in a definite lateral positionwith respect to the line of movement of the valve whenever said leverapproaches its lowered position.

5. Valve-operating mechanism for a flush tank including a leverconnected at one end to a fulcrum supported by a side of the tank, saidlever extending generally lengthwise of the tank to a location above adischarge opening in the bottom of the tank, a valve connected with thefree end portion of the lever remote from the fulcrum, and parallelguide surfaces between which the free end portion of the lever movesduring its operation of the valve and its return to its initial startingposition.

6. Valve-operating mechanism for the valve of a flush tank, saidoperating mechanism including a fulcrum supported from the front wall ofthe tank, an operating lever movable angularly about a fulcrum axis thatextends inward transversely of the tank, said lever extending lengthwiseof the tank and transversely away from the front wall of the tank for adistance substantially greater than the inward extent of the fulcrumbeyond the front wall of the tank, a valve for controlling the escape ofwater from a bottom outlet of the flush tank, a stem extending upwardfrom the valve, guide means above the bottom outlet for restrainin thevalve against lateral displacement while it is in open position, meansconnecting the operating lever with the valve stem, and a substantiallyvertical, stationary guide independent of the valve stem and in a fixedrelation to the discharge outlet and located on the front side of theoperating lever in position to contact a surface of said lever remotefrom the fulcrum axis and maintain it in a definite relation to theoutlet of the flush tank.

'7. A flush tank having a bottom discharge opening, a buoyant valvecommanding said discharge opening, an off-set lever for lifting thevalve from the discharge opening, said lever being supported at one endby a fulcrum, located at the front of the tank, and an overflow pipe inthe tank in front of the lever, the lower end of said overflow pipebeing located adjacent the discharge opening and said overflow pipehaving a surface in position to contact with the end portion of thelever remote from the fulcrum to serve as a guide and to prevent lateraldisplacement of the operating lever in one direction.

8. The apparatus described in claim 2 and in which the end of theoperating lever remote from the fulcrum is bifurcated, and in which saidupwardly extending guide surface is on a guide element that extendsupward between the bifurcations.

9. The apparatus described in claim 2 and in which the end of theoperating lever remote from the fulcrum is bifurcated, and in which theconnection between the valve stem and the end of the lever comprises anelement on the upper end of the valve stem spanning the opening betweenthe bifurcations, through which opening the valve stem extends.

10. The apparatus described in claim 2 and in which the end of theoperating lever remote from the fulcrum is bifurcated, and in which boththe valve stem and a device on which the upwardly extending guidesurface is located extend through the opening at the bifurcated end ofthe lever, and the valve stem is lifted by an element that spans saidopening at the bifurcated end of the lever.

SAMUEL GERTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,897 McHugh May 10, 1887732,095 Marcellus June 30, 1903 841,487 Day Jan. 15, 1907 943,131Zwermann Dec. 14, 1909 999,619 Young Aug. 1, 1911 1,074,411 CrockerSept. 30, 1913 1,075,681 Bamford Oct. 14, 1913 1,168,530 Meaker Jan. 18,1916 1,767,519 Duncan June 24, 1930 2,188,457 Giansetto Jan. 30, 1940

